Jan 17, 2011
Suit Claims Escondido Violated California Vehicle Code
POSTED: 7:04 pm PST January 17, 2011
UPDATED: 7:18 pm PST January 17, 2011
SAN DIEGO -- An Escondido resident filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the city of Escondido and Escondido Police Department because of its driver's license checkpoints.
The driver's license checkpoints began in 2004 and have been criticized by activists who call them immigration checks.
The plaintiff, Escondido resident Rich Dudka, said he was driving on Escondido Boulevard when he was stopped at a checkpoint back on October 5, 2009.
The lawsuit said the city of Escondido did not follow California Vehicle Code, which states: "A peace officer shall not stop a vehicle for the sole reason of determining whether the driver is properly licensed."
The lawsuit, filed in August, goes on to say: "Each of the Defendants named in this action have played a role in the unlawful stopping, inspection, towing, and impoundment of vehicles in the City of Escondido."
"Is it public safety? Is it [a] DUI checkpoint, or is it [a] driver's license checkpoint?" asked Escondido resident, Jeff Griffith.
Griffith, who has worked with various local civil rights groups, criticizes what he calls fiscal mismanagement.
"It's up to the city to be responsible and take care of this situation," Griffith said.
Dudka is asking for damages, which could add up to $15 million, on behalf of all drivers subjected to the checkpoints.
Dudka's attorney, Tomas Flores, said should his client win, the money "would be dispersed to the class of injured parties."
City leaders have long defended the checkpoints. In April 2009, Escondido Police Chief Jim Maher said the checkpoints are for safety purposes.
"They are absolutely not immigration checkpoints. We do not have immigration at these checkpoints," Maher said.
Maher said since they implemented the checkpoints, they have seen a 36 percent drop in hit-and-run accidents. That statistic was from 2009.
The checkpoints have since changed to include other inspections, such as vehicle registration, insurance and seatbelt checks. The checks are oftentimes also combined with DUI inspections.
The lawsuit states Dudka's car was impounded, but his attorney would not say if he had a valid license at the time.
No trial date has been set.
Dudka did not return phone calls from 10News, but Flores released this statement: "Driver's license checkpoints, as practiced in the city of Escondido, run counter to our American ideals of freedom. This practice is a violation of our fundamental rights and we look forward to our day in court to defend against the erosion of our individual liberties."
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